Playoffs time! There are some new rules going into effect this postseason, designed to keep playoffs moving and increase accountability as well as making them more accessible to the community at large. In no particular order, here's what's up:

How we determined seeding/teams:

-At 12:01am Pacific this morning, we added all submitted forfeits into the system.
-We ranked teams by W/L record, including forfeit wins
-In ties the following rules apply:
-the first tie breaker is number of forfeit wins; if two teams have identical records and one has played more, they will get the higher seed. (This does not apply however if it is deciding which team(s) advance to playoffs. This only applies for seeding when involved teams are all 'safely' in playoffs.)
-the second tie breaker (and in some cases the first) is GPG
-the final tiebreaker, if necessary, is overall team K/D

Scheduling:

Given the time constraints upon us, we need to ensure all games are played in a timely manner, even in spite of ourselves and our community's tendency to do things at the last minute whenever possible. For this reason, we're going to try something new. For each week of playoffs, a number of 2 hour blocks of time will be offered as official game times. You can find the first week time slots here. Each of these time blocks comes with its own streamer, so you will only need to find a neutral host. When two captains decide on a time to play, reserve that slot by clicking on it in the FL12 Playoff Calendar and filling out the form. The game will then be scheduled in our main NGA Events calendar. Before you start worrying about your unique schedule, take a look. You'll see that we're offering multiple time slots every day through Monday, with varied times each day. There are also 16 spots open for 4 series that need to be played, so there are plenty to go around. Please give us as much notice as possible so we can advertise your game. If one or both teams do not show up to a scheduled game time (we will check with both captains when the time is reserved) we reserve the right to issue a forfeit(s).

Neutral Host:

Teams may play without a host if both captains agree and no adverse network conditions are seen in the game. However, we strongly recommend having a Neutral host, and it is always required if a captain requests it. Both teams should have potential NHs ready at their scheduled game time, and in the end, if it is a one sided request, the requesting captain is ultimately responsible for fulfilling this requirement. However - in cases where we have to do something extreme to get a game played - ie benching a player who is pulling or playing 3v3 - favor will fall to the team(s) who can prove they tried to get the game neutral hosted. This might be the one thing the NGA wishes you weren't going to be a douche about.

Streaming:

If you haven't been watching our recent streams, you've been missing out. We have a great core audience who always shows up in force to see games played and mingle with the community. While some folks might be shy or otherwise against streaming, we strongly feel all playoff games should be streamed. Not only does it preserve them for the ages, it helps strengthen and add new blood to the community. So be a star! Mute the streamer if you don't want to be heard. If a streamer ever conclusively hurts a game's connection or otherwise interrupts normal play, this may be waived. You'll be told who your streamer will be when we confirm your gametime request.

Dates:

1st round games must be completed by Monday, October 22

2nd round games must be completed by Monday, October 29

For the finals, we request the games be played on the final weekend so they can be included in our lineup of events saying goodbye to Reach - Nov 2-3 - but if this is absolutely impossible, we will work with the final two teams as long as the game is played by Sunday, November 4.

Any questions, please ask, and we look forward to seeing everyone fight it out for the title!

One final reminder: Rosters were locked at the end of makeup week. Keep this in mind when you schedule to avoid a 3v4 situation.

View the FL12 Playoff Bracket